Why traffic in Northern VA Sucks

[acroyear]

From Dr. Gridlock in the 'Post.

Here it is: It's The System. Let's examine it.

First, all politicians say they are for transportation improvements and against gridlock. Who isn't? The problem is that local officials have little control over transportation improvements. That belongs to Virginia.

The only state-elected official you can hold accountable for lack of roads is the governor, and he is already limited to one term. You could blame him for constricting the transportation budget to something the state can afford, but you could also blame those Northern Virginia residents who didn't vote or voted against a proposed half-cent increase in the sales tax. The extra revenue would have gone to transportation improvements.

Local officials, while having little effect on road decisions, have control over development. And there's the rub. Development decisions are often made regardless of what the state might be able to afford -- or might be willing to undertake -- in transportation improvements.

Perhaps one measurement for you, Mr. Boughton, would be to note local officials who approve huge developments even though there are no road improvements to serve that development.

An example would be the townhouse nation replacing a huge, forested area bounded by Route 29, Interstate 66 and the Fairfax County Parkway. You've got meaningful additional traffic with no meaningful improvements (such as extra lanes) to the boundary roads. Who approved that? Keep score, and get behind their opponents in the next election.

Or take the baffling supervisors in Prince William County who approved a 25,000-seat concert arena (Nissan Pavilion) in the I-66 corridor, with weekday evening events that correspond to evening rush hours, leading to horrendous gridlock for homebound Prince William commuters.

Or take the Loudoun County supervisors who have approved thousands and thousands of houses in the Route 50 corridor, even though no improvements to traffic-choked Route 50 are funded.

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

It should be noted here that I voted against the tax raise for roads. At a time when personal income, propery values and the GNP are all at their highest levels ever in this state, this state really is (or should be) making more money on current tax rates than ever before. It is their job, hired by us, to manage that money effectively. If they can't trim the bureaucracy properly, that's their own damn lookout and we'll see them when the next election comes.

A friend of mine basically told me never vote for your own tax raise. I believe he's right.